Dedicated to the Business of Contemporary Live Music
INDUSTRY FIGURES and associates are paying tributes to Steve Forster, founder and MD of venue services company VMS Live, who died on 19 April, aged 55, following a serious car accident two weeks earlier. Forster started his career as entertainment organiser of Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University), setting up his…
Read moreVENUE OPERATOR AEG and its ticketing partner AXS have launched a price-capped ticket resale platform for its London venues, The O2 (cap, 21,000), which it owns, and The SSE Arena, Wembley (12,500), which it operates. Branded AXS Official Resale, the service enables tickets to be re-sold at a maximum of…
Read moreMULTI-VENUE operator Academy Music Group (AMG) has taken over the running of the 2,135-capacity Newcastle City Hall. The deal followed an agreement between AMG, Fusion Lifestyle and the City Hall. As part of the arrangement, the Grade ll-listed venue, which opened in 1927, has now been renamed O2 City Hall…
Read moreTHE COMPANY behind Bristol’s new arena project has appointed architects to transform the city’s historic Brabazon hangars, where Concorde was developed and housed, into a 16,000-capacity live music venue. Grimshaw, responsible for projects including the Thermae Bath Spa and the Eden Project, will work with international stadium developer Manica Architecture…
Read moreDHP FAMILY, owner of The Garage (cap. 600) in north London, has welcomed a move by Islington Council planners, that will give it “strong protection” against developers. When Transport for London (TfL) announced plans to develop the buildings around the venue as part of improvements to Highbury and Islington tube…
Read morePRS FOUNDATION chief executive Vanessa Reed is leaving the charity after 11 years, to take up a post as president and CEO of New Music USA. During her time at PRS she spearheaded programmes such as Momentum, which provides grants of £5,000-15,000 to help emerging artistes progress, and Women Make…
Read moreTHE SOUTHBANK Centre’s annual Meltdown festival, to run from 3 to 11 August, will have a lineup selected by producer, musician and songwriter Nile Rodgers. The 26th edition of the event, which in the past has been curated by artistes including David Bowie, Robert Smith, Ray Davies, M.I.A. and Patti…
Read moreTHOUSANDS OF fans and artistes face losing money as crowdfunding platform PledgeMusic is on the brink of calling in administrators. The company was set up in 2009 to help musicians bypass traditional funding sources such as record labels, and appeal directly to their fans to raise money rfor ecording and…
Read moreA LONGSTANDING reputation for hosting rock concerts saw Southend-on-Sea’s Cliffs Pavillion Theatre (cap. 2,250) scoop a warm-up show by Rod Stewart, ahead of his stadium tour. Configured for a seated-only show at 1,657 people, the concert sold-out in minutes, says venue head of marketing Paul Driscoll. “We have a good…
Read moreMILTON KEYNES venue The Stables Theatre (cap 538) in Wavendon has been given the legal right to maintain its existing noise levels during concerts. The Stables’ management raised concerns last year when Abbey Homes unveiled plans to construct a 134-property residential development opposite the venue. Milton Keynes Council voted…
Read moreTICKETLINE HAS launched a fan-to-fan resale platform allowing people to sell tickets they can’t use, capped at a maximum of 10 per cent above face value. The firm says it aims to provide its customers with “an easy, fair and ethical resale platform to sell unwanted tickets at the face…
Read moreA GROUP of ambitious music industry figures in Southampton hope a campaign to create a music strategy could eventually lead to the opening of a major venue in the city centre. Representatives from Southampton’s two universities have joined forces with other interested parties and the local council to launch SO:Music….
Read moreLONDON VENUE The Borderline (cap. 300) is to close by 31 August, with owner DHP Family blaming increasing rents and business rates. The company says it will reinvest in other venues in its portfolio including a £1 million refit for Bristol’s Thekla (400), and its first venue in Birmingham, which…
Read moreMORE DETAILS are emerging of the restructuring of about eight per cent of the festival market, following the surprise decision by radio giant Global to divest the majority of its festival interests (see sister publication Audience, issue 231). The bulk of the group’s festivals have been divided between two companies,…
Read moreGOVERNMENT WATCHDOG the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into the proposed purchase by Live Nation Entertainment (LNE) sister company LN-Gaiety Holdings (LNG) of Irish promoter and venue owner MCD Productions, The move follows a similar probe by Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) The…
Read moreIndustry figures and associates are paying tribute to Steve Forster, founder and MD of venue services company VMS Live, who died on 19 April, aged 55, following a serious car accident two weeks earlier. Forster is renowned as a venue services specialist who was probably directly involved in the opening…
Read moreTHE OPENING of a new 4,000-capacity venue in Bradford city centre has taken a significant step forward after councillors gave the project the green light. A decision to grant planning permission to developers for the refurbishment of the city’s former Odeon cinema was unanimously approved by Bradford Metropolitan District Council’s…
Read moreDF CONCERTS has threatened to scrap its Glasgow festivals and start new ones in other locations if city authorities insists on imposing a proposed per capita tax on outdoor events. Last month Glasgow City Council approved a budget for the current tax year which included raising £650,000 from an environmental…
Read moreAT LEAST nine new live music venues have either recently opened or are scheduled to open in London, at every capacity ranging from the 21,000-capacity MSG Sphere arena in Stratford, planned by New York’s Madison Square Garden Company to a 280 capacity grassroots venue They include two planned by Broadwick…
Read moreLIVERPOOL’S 385-capacity Epstein Theatre narrowly avoided closure last year after the theft of over £270,000 by former employee Kelvin Lloyd. The former assistant manager at the theatre received a prison sentence of 28 months after pleading guilty as charged at Liverpool Crown Court on 9 April. Lloyd had been embezzling…
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